Do you remember this recording (Visit from St. Nick)?

Cafe Society
1

Waaaay back in the 1950’s we had a recording of A Visit From St. Nick ('Twas the night before Christmas…) that was set to music and recorded by some large bland choral group. It was a lot of fun, and even though I generally loathe Christmas music, I wouldn’t mind listening to it one more time.

Wikipedia mentions a version by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians, recorded in 1942, so I was able to find it on You Tube. Here it is. (It says 1961, but I’m sure our record was old, maybe even a 78, and this sounds exactly like what I remember, except in stereo.)

Does anyone else remember this? And care to share any other old Christmas favorites from your childhood?
Roddy

2

I remember that too. There is at least one earlier version – here’s a Youtube of the actual 78 being played.

I remember a lot of Christmas songs from my childhood. We had the original 78 of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” – it was actually the B-side; the A-side was “If It Doesn’t Snow on Christmas”, which has been pretty much forgotten. We also had a Basil Rathbone version of “A Christmas Carol”, on an album of 78s… I was overjoyed to find it on LP many years later.

I still have several of the LPs we used to play back then, such as The Little Drummer Boy by the Harry Simeone Chorale, Noel by Joan Baez, and The Andy Williams Christmas Album… they all take me right back.

3

When I was a wee lad, we had a record of the story of Frosty the Snowman. With Frosty telling the story. As he was ending the tale and saying goodbye, he was also melting, and his voice came out all burbly, like someone talking under water (or while being reduced to a liquid state).

I found it horrifying. :eek:

4

I recall this song from my childhood, and when I saw the green album cover in the right-hand column, it clicked in my memory like a jigsaw-puzzle piece snapping in place.
What I remember (ever the punctilious poet, even at 8!) was resenting the proliferation of liberties taken with the original–and a lot of the more theatrical corn!
I think my most unusual Christmas song memory is of my dramatics teacher asking every year whether and where we’d heard the “Who’s got a big red cherry nose?” song, which her husband had written.